The present invention relates to a sliding member having a sliding layer on a sliding surface.
Sliding members, for example, plain bearings for engines of automobiles are usually improved in wear resistance, anti-seizure property and initial conformability by providing a sliding layer comprising a thermosetting resin such as a polyamide-imide (hereinafter referred to as “PAI”) resin, a polyimide (hereinafter referred to as “PI”) resin or an epoxy (hereinafter referred to as “EP”) resin containing a solid lubricant or the like on the surface of a substrate comprising a back metal made of a steel plate and a bearing alloy layer provided on the back metal (see, for example, JP-A-4-83914 and JP-A-9-79262).
Furthermore, JP-A-8-59991 discloses resin-based sliding materials comprising PAI and PI as base resins which contain solid lubricants and hard particles.
However, the above-mentioned conventional sliding materials are all insufficient in wear resistance.